Schiene Captures Illinois Open Title

August 04, 1991|By Terry Armour.

The way Marty Schiene sees it, this just might put him over the hump.

Schiene took a big step forward in his professional golf career Saturday, shooting a 2-over-par 73 in the final round of the Illinois Open to beat Rick Price by three strokes for the title at Royal Fox Golf Club in St. Charles.

Schiene, 32, of Chicago, entered the final round with a four-stroke lead and finished the 54-hole tournament at 2-under-par 211. The 23-year-old Price, of Medinah, who shot a 70 on Saturday, finished at 214, and Blackhawks broadcaster Dale Tallon, who shot a 71, was third at 215.

Batavia`s Lee Kolquist, a former NCAA All-American at Minnesota, took the top prize in the amateur division at 220.

For Schiene, who turned pro in 1985, the $8,800 check he received represented his first significant victory. It was Schiene`s seventh Illinois Open appearance.

``Once you win something like this,`` Schiene said, ``it kind of gets you over the hump. You know you can do it; you know you can keep it together for 54 holes. I think it will give me a lot of confidence.``

Fortunately for Schiene, who played golf at the University of Illinois, his rounds of 68 and 70 the first two days helped make things easier when he struggled early in the final round.

Schiene recorded a pair of bogeys on the front nine. The first was on the par-3, 200-yard fifth hole, where he left his approach on the right side of the green and three-putted. The second came on the par-4, 441-yard seventh hole after he hit the ball into the rough and then into a bunker just short of the green.

``I was real concerned when I made the turn at 2-over,`` Schiene said.

``I knew I had to play a decent back nine.``

He started decently with a birdie on the 10th hole, but he bogeyed the 11th, when he missed a 10-foot putt, and the 13th, when he missed a 3 1/2-foot putt.

Schiene rallied, however, knocking down a long putt on the 14th for a birdie and parring the rest of the holes.

``When I made that putt, I felt like, `All right, I`m only 2-over now,`

Schiene said. `` `I can win this thing now.` I played just about as good as I did Thursday. I just didn`t putt well.``

Neither did Price, who kept it close throughout the day. But he misread key putts on the 10th, 14th and 17th holes.

``I`m pretty pleased,`` Price said. ``But I had a lot of opportunities to make up some ground, and maybe if I had put a little pressure on, things would have ended up different.``

Tallon had his share of problems, too. He double-bogeyed the second hole and bogeyed the third-holes he could have parred. But he did manage to birdie the fourth, seventh and ninth holes to emerge even after nine.

Tallon trailed Schiene by only two strokes after 14 holes, but he bogeyed the 15th hole to fall three strokes behind and then bogeyed 16 to take himself out of the running.

But he remained positive.

``I`ve been improving for the last three years,`` Tallon said. ``If I keep going at this rate, if my legs don`t collapse on me, I`m just looking to get better. I feel a lot more confident.``